FIGURE 5.

CXCR3 blockade prevents the onset of alopecia in AA skin grafted C3H/HeJ mice. Mice were treated beginning the day of grafting (n=5–10 mice per group). anti-CXCR3 mAb or isotype control IgG was administrated by i.p. injection (200 μg) two times weekly for 12 weeks. (A) The onset of alopecia was inhibited by administration of anti-CXCR3 mAb. (B) Time course of onset of AA in control mice and anti-CXCR3 treated mice was shown as weeks after grafting. (C) The expression of CD4, CD8, MHC class I and MHC class II in skin was significantly decreased in anti-CXCR3 treated mice compared to control mice. (D) Representative FACS plots of cell suspension of mouse skin. The frequencies of infiltrating CD45⁺ leukocytes and IFN-γ-producing CD8⁺NKG2D⁺ T cell in skin of anti-CXCR3 treated mice were significantly decreased compared to control mice. (E) CXCR3 ligand expression in skin from anti-CXCR3 treated mice and controls was analyzed using quantitative PCR. The expression of CXCR3 ligands in skin are significantly decreased in anti-CXCR3 treated mice compared to control mice. (F) Representative FACS plots of the SDLNs. Shown are the percentages of lymphocyte subsets. (G) The absolute numbers and the percentages of lymphocyte subsets in SDLNs are compared between the anti-CXCR3 treated group and control. Data are representative of two experiments with 10 mice total each group. Scale bar = 200μM. * indicates p<0.05, ** indicates p<0.01, and *** indicates p<0.001